10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2023

Left – 2nd edition, right – 3rd edition So, not much has changed since the 2nd edition? Another difference, an odd one, some woodpeckers gained weight, could it be a time to consider a diet? Many vagrants have been recorded again and again, giving them the right to sneak into the main plates and to get a full coverage.

Europe 253

Europe Birds Woodpeckers Ireland 253

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 7, 2021

The female isn’t quite so unreal but is still a cool little bird in her own right. Plumaged like various other small female hummingbirds from North America, the lady Snowcap is pale gray below, pale glittering green above, and with a tail that flashes bits of white. Foothill Rainforest!

Costa Rica 264

Costa Rica San Jose Birds Farming 264

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2023

and three of the nine woodpeckers illustrated. Woodpeckers are a family of focus for Tuttle-Adams. Woodpeckers nest in cavities and their young are altricial (born in an undeveloped state), which means there is not a lot of documented information about their young and how they look at different stages.

Wildlife Rehabilitation 255

Wildlife Rehabilitation Birds Family Collecting 255

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 27, 2014

They are mainly year-round residents of montane coniferous forests of western North America, primarily in areas dominated by pine, spruce-fir, and piñon-juniper. When visiting the park in the summer months they can usually be found nesting in a natural cavity in a tree stump or in a woodpecker hole.

North America 172

North America Woodpeckers America Rights 172

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 15, 2020

But the Kentish Plover was sheltering its young under its body, and the Little Ringed Plover was incubating an egg — right in the middle of downtown Madrid! Iberian Green Woodpecker, Madrid, Spain. Mexico has a good number of greenish or rusty Woodpeckers. I just haven’t seen any of them. I think all Swifts are cool.

Austria 146

Austria Spain 2019 Birds 146

10,000 Birds

JULY 8, 2020

We also have many species that we share with the rest of Mexico, Central America, and/or the southwest of the United States. Fourth, a significant number of migratory species visit us in the winter, most from western North America, but a few from the continent’s eastern side. You have to know where to look for them.

Mexico 192

Mexico Birds Honduras United States 192

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2015

The Durango Highway is arguably one of North America’s great birding roads due to the great variety of habitats, the spectacular mountain scenery of the Sierra Madre Occidental, and the numerous Mexican endemics one can target. The birds we observed were nesting right into the cliff face. Photo by Andrew Spencer.

Mexico 191

Mexico Costa Rica Arizona Birds 191

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 18, 2015

Cardinal Woodpecker. Three species of woodpecker, from the large Bearded Woodpecker to the smaller Golden-tailed Woodpecker and the even smaller Cardinal Woodpecker, searched the trunks and branches, while on the smallest tips of the branches the tiny Long-billed Crombec clambered about in search of food.

South Africa 145

South Africa Tortoises Woodpeckers Birds 145

10,000 Birds

MAY 21, 2019

On my first trip there, I had the good luck to find the best sites right away. The first is a true endemic, found only in southwestern Mexico, while the second can also be seen in Central America. And the call I would identify as a Golden-fronted Woodpecker in the highlands, comes here from the endemic Golden-cheeked Woodpecker.

Mexico 114

Mexico Birds Nevada Sparrows 114

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2019

I stitched away as I watched the Red-bellied Woodpecker scatter the smaller Chipping Sparrows and Carolina Chickadees as it glided down for a few seed morsels. Eastern Bluebirds called from the branches above my head, while Ruby-crowned Kinglets buzzed in the holly bush a few yards to my right.

Agenda 140

Agenda Birds Louisiana North America 140

10,000 Birds

JUNE 23, 2019

If I had a dollar for every time I had to explain why Melanerpes carolinus is named Red-bellied Woodpecker , I’d be able to afford little brochures on the topic to pass out in the field. Far too many bird names have confusing, misleading, or just plain dumb common names. Well, no more!

Birds 113

Birds Woodpeckers Ducks Suffering 113

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 1, 2012

If you look closely, you will spot a sap well at the very top of the photo, right above the bird’s beak. Back in the summer of ’09 I wrote a post on a Juvenile Nuttall’s Woodpecker that was foraging in an oak tree and an Anna’s Hummingbird that was feeding out of the sap wells in that tree.

North America 161

North America Alaska Woodpeckers 2010 161

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 12, 2014

Tody Motmot is perhaps one of the most charismatic bird species in all of Central America, and Honduras is perhaps one of the best places to see it. Lesser Roadrunner is another spectacular species of the thorn forest scrub of the Aguan Valley, which we observed at length right along the main road! Photo by James Adams.

Honduras 163

Honduras Monkeys Birds America 163

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 14, 2014

Before finally connecting to the South American continent about three million years ago, Central America consisted of a series of volcanic islands. The region is also especially rich in trogons and motmots, two decidedly tropical families with a longer evolutionary history in North America than South America.

Honduras 213

Honduras Costa Rica El Salvador Arizona 213

10,000 Birds

JULY 28, 2015

It is a known birding hotspot, hosting sub-boreal species as well as rare birds, like the Black-backed Woodpecker. Though I had no luck with the woodpecker, I was very excited about the list of birds we tallied, especially because it was in the middle of the day. Still, it was my first Ruffed Grouse of the year. Ruffed Grouse.

North Carolina 158

North Carolina Birds North America Woodpeckers 158

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 25, 2017

Cope keeps track of the birds in this locally owned forest and on our visit, one of “his” Crested Owls was visible right from the road. They come to fruit right behind the buildings and while you dig the colors, you might also get lucky with Ornate Hawk-Eagle, Golden-olive Woodpecker, White Hawk , and other species (we did).

Costa Rica 141

Costa Rica Owls Birds Eagles 141

10,000 Birds

JUNE 27, 2018

We pulled into the parking lot, got out of the car, and before I’d even had a chance to pull my binoculars out of my backpack, an adult eagle soared right over our heads. Sadly, it appears hardly any creatures are safe from our feathered Captain America.) I swooned, too transfixed to grab my camera, and marveled at the bird’s majesty.

Bald Eagle 113

Bald Eagle Eagles United States Philadelphia 113

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 24, 2014

August arrived and I was releasing birds knowing they’d need time to adapt prior to making that long flight across the Gulf of Mexico, headed to South America. Maggie Rufo, who works with Veronica at NSCC in Sebastopol, remembers a juvenile Pileated Woodpecker she agreed to release where it had been found in Mendocino. “I

Wildlife Rehabilitation 220

Wildlife Rehabilitation Ohio Tulsa West Virginia 220

10,000 Birds

JULY 21, 2014

In the late nineteenth century, Eugene Schieffelin, a wealthy New York drug manufacturer, resolved to introduce to North America every species of bird mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare. Our native bluebirds, woodpeckers, owls, and flycatchers have paid the price of bardophilia ever since. Those wacky pharmacists.

New York City 191

New York City New York North America Species 191

10,000 Birds

JUNE 7, 2019

In North America, the United States Fish & Wildlife Service estimates that up to 57 million birds perish every year in collisions with electrical utility lines. Each a Gorgon’s head, which, seized right, Could stun us to stone. There is an undeniable appeal to the sight of a bird sitting on a wire. Barnacles as compose.

United States 117

United States Game North America New York City 117

10,000 Birds

MAY 3, 2016

I purchased my first Sibley— The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America —in 2003. A guide that feels so right in my hands? It was my second field guide, and I quickly gave it that worn look I imagined all “real” birder’s field guides had by dropping it into the creek at Allaire State Park in New Jersey (by accident!).

North America 159

North America 2003 Birds America 159

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2020

Diversity of habitat means, of course, great biodiversity, and the Introduction boasts that Bolivia “is the richest landlocked nation on Earth for bird diversity, the sixth richest overall, and the fifth richest in the Americas” (p. Each species is numbered, with the numbers referring to the illustrations on the right.

Bolivia 172

Bolivia Birds Brazil Switzerland 172

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 6, 2014

This special place is also one of the last bastions of wild rainforest on the Pacific coast of Central America, hosts many endemic plants and animals, and as one may surmise, is pretty awesome for birds. This foot-shaped piece of land in southern Costa Rica is just about as far from San Jose as you can go without leaving the country.

Costa Rica 244

Costa Rica San Jose Sharks Monkeys 244

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2011

home about advertise archives birds conservation contact galleries links reviews subscribe Browse: Home / Birds / Manky Muscovy Ducks Manky Muscovy Ducks By Mike • March 2, 2011 • 6 comments Tweet Share The Muscovy Duck ( Cairina moschata ) attracts more attention than most ducks, at least in North America. Wicked, right?

Ducks 216

Ducks 2011 Deer New York 216

10,000 Birds

MAY 11, 2012

John Bachmann headed west to gather material for Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America. American scientists, realizing belatedly how embarrassing it was to know so little about a species right in the heart of their own continent, rushed to study this remnant population. Second chances like this are the stuff of legend.

Ferrets 184

Ferrets South Dakota Wyoming Captive Animal 184

10,000 Birds

MAY 4, 2017

In a time of little published information about the rainforests of Central and South America aside from scientific journal articles and the works of 19th-century naturalists, the “little green book,” as it was called, became a must-read amongst nature-oriented travelers and researchers.

South America 150

South America Ecuador Reptiles America 150

10,000 Birds

APRIL 26, 2013

One of the perks about living in Miami is that plane tickets to the bird-rich Caribbean, Central, and South America are often cheaper than going to places like Arizona, Colorado, or California. Like magic, a dark bird flew into a tall tree right beside the road. I stuck my head out the window and looked up — and there it was!

Jamaica 178

Jamaica Puerto Rico 2013 Birds 178

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 6, 2017

Sure, occasionally a bird has given me problems, like Black-backed Woodpeckers back in 2007 when I was doing an alleged Big Year in New York State, but not seeing a bird for a single year does not make it a nemesis. But Black Woodpecker ? Yet, here I am, back from Austria, minus one Black Woodpecker sighting. What happened?

Woodpeckers 100

Woodpeckers Austria Europe Hungary 100

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2011

and Colombia respectively, have secured thirteen new conservation easements in Colombia with private landowners that will protect important habitat for the Cerulean Warbler – North America’s fastest declining neotropical migrant songbird. Wicked, right? RECENT POSTS More Habitat for Snowy Plover? Hat-tip to Stella.

Colombia 145

Colombia 2011 Deer Brazil 145

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

Lewis’s Woodpecker ( Melanerpes lewis ) In Flight, photos by Larry Jordan Driving home from work last week I finally saw my first Lewis’s Woodpecker ( Melanerpes lewis ) of the fall. Lucky for me, these beautiful and unusual woodpeckers can be found nearly year round in the oak savannah along the road I travel daily.

Woodpeckers 201

Woodpeckers South Dakota Jordan United States 201

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2011

Second of all, Lewis’s Woodpeckers are birds of the west and they rarely stray to New York State. So you can imagine our disappointment when we crawled out of the car after our trip to find out that Mike was in fact relaxing in the warm kitchen and had no idea where the woodpecker was!

New York 191

New York Woodpeckers Jordan 2011 191

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 4, 2012

I have been a fan of the Kaufman Guides since I bought the Field Guide to Butterflies of North America , for a birds and butterflies trip to Colorado. Kaufman guides are colorful and well-designed and convenient, just the right size and weight to slip into a backpack or even a pocket.

Massachusetts 207

Massachusetts North America Rhode Island Ohio 207

10,000 Birds

MARCH 13, 2011

Bufflehead are the smallest of North America’s diving ducks. They breed across Canada and Alaska’s boreal forest near ponds and lakes, using nest holes made by woodpeckers, almost exclusively flickers. Wicked, right? RECENT POSTS More Habitat for Snowy Plover? Hat-tip to Stella.

2011 150

2011 Ducks Deer New York 150

10,000 Birds

MARCH 8, 2011

In the right season, with a little luck, we often find it, and sometimes it perches high and long enough that we can admire its scimitar of a bill, its stern face pattern, and even the patch of rusty red on the undertail that gives the species its English and its scientific names. Wicked, right? at Princeton University in 1990.

2011 140

2011 Tucson Arizona Deer 140

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 28, 2012

This post is old news to those who pay attention to what I say on Facebook but I am still pleased as punch to point out that I have finally reached the 500-bird milestone in the American Birding Association area (basically North America north of Mexico). How did I finally reach this lofty peak?

San Marino 105

San Marino Los Angeles Birds Laws 105

10,000 Birds

MARCH 21, 2024

Being a westerner — raised in California, and now living in western Mexico — I was perhaps most excited about the migratory birds that breed in eastern North America. I’m happy to say that the ones right on the other side of a low wall were not so large. Then, around 4:00 p.m., I liked their attitude.

Mexico 193

Mexico Birds Raccoons Baltimore 193

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2015

Fernandina’s Flicker, a tongue-twisting alliterative name for one of the most endangered woodpeckers in the world! Silhouettes along the border of the right-hand page depict the shape of the bird from different angles (a huge aid to those of us who end up with photos against the light).

Cuba 229

Cuba Birds United States 2000 229